//------------------------------// // The Light Shadow Pt. 2 // Story: The Light Shadow // by Noted Sir //------------------------------// Dash awoke to find herself in a rusty cell. Her jaw was still sore from the blow that knocked her out and she was fairly certain that it was bruised. Still in a daze, she stumbled to her feet and looked out of the single window of the cell. She found herself overlooking much of Equestria, placing herself somewhere in the Queen's castle. It was still day, so Dash assumed she hadn't been out for too long. She turned back to the door of her cell to find that someone had been watching her. The rainbow pony almost slammed her head against the ceiling in her quick fright, which rapidly turned to anger. The treasurer stood on the outside, looking in at the rather battered pegasus pony. "Good, you're awake. Hope they didn't rough you up too bad! Although, quite frankly, they had to put you in your place somehow! Maybe next time the tribute collectors come around, you'll decide to stay in town." There wasn't really anything Rainbow could think to say. "I'm not funding a murderer." Finally, the words escaped her mouth after ten seconds of silence. "Rainbow Dash, are you really still on this?" The two were now eye to eye "Look, I understand how traumatic it all must have been for you, but the "murderer" you speak of was caught long ago, ensuring a long lasting peace for all of Equestria! I ran your little theory by Celestia herself, OBVIOUSLY she thought it to be the most preposterous thing she'd ever-" "You told her?!" Dash was growing angrier. "I just felt that the time was right...besides, you would've done the exact same thing." Twilight tried to reason with her. "What? Sell out my friends?" "Listen here, you little bitch!" Twilight snapped quickly. "I've kept you safe for so long, and you've taken that for granted. All you had to do was stay in line, obey the laws, and this all could've been avoided." "And there it is. Twilight Sparkle in her true form...I'm not here because of the taxes, am I?" "No." Twilight smirked before walking off down the corridor. Dash didn't have much time to think about what had just happened, as the three pegasus ponies who had arrested her unlocked the cell and pulled her forth, shoving her down the hall. She thought about trying to bolt away from them before realizing that her wings were bound together. When they finally reached the throne, Dash was shoved forward, causing her to fall on her face, re-igniting some of the pain which resided there sometime before. Lightning Dust kept a hoof pressed into her spine, almost triumphantly, as the other two moved forward to the Queen. "I'm impressed. I would've thought it would take you a lot longer to catch such a slippery one." Celestia took the same light, airy tone that Dash had remembered hearing in her voice from previous encounters with her. "Go to Twilight Sparkle for your reward, tell her I said to put in a little extra for being so quick about this." Dash felt the pressure released from her back as the three raced one another out of the room. "Now...Ah, yes! Rainbow Dash!" Her horn lit up as a scroll about the size of Dash herself floated up to the Queen's eyes. "Right...Tax evasion...8 months? Oh, my!...hmm..." Dash started to chuckle a bit as Celestia acted as if she hadn't known the charges she had placed against her. "Is something funny? Because I certainly don't think this is funny. You could end up doing quite a bit of time for something like this, you know?" "Princess...Sorry, QUEEN Celestia." Dash rolled her eyes. "I know. And I think you know that I know. With all due respect, I don't think I'm the biggest criminal in this room right now. So, the question here is, are you gonna do to me what you did to your own sister?" "Oh, Rainbow Dash." Celestia said with a smile. "You always were terrible at picking your battles." The scroll floated back to its previous spot next to the throne as the Queen stood. She towered over Dash from her pedestal. "You know, I could get rid of you right now. Put you down just like Luna. It would be a lot easier in this case, though. After all, she was my blood. You, on the other hand...I respect you, though. More than you could possibly believe. THEY respect you, too." She brought Dash's gaze to Ponyville, which could barely be seen in the distance out the window to the left. "So, that's why I've decided to let you live...for now, anyway." Rainbow Dash was in a mixture of shock and relief. "Hell, I'll even look the other way on the taxes...Just one condition though." The Queen's eyes turned cold. "If I find out that you have told anyone what you told my faithful student after you leave here, there will be no mercy. I WILL bury you, Rainbow Dash. Understand?" Rainbow Dash gulped, "Yes, your majesty." Almost instantly, Celestia returned to her usual fluttering, wispy voice. "Good, then we're done here. I'll have a guard escort you out. Phillip! Phillip, come here!" There was no response. "Phillip?" At that moment, Lightning Dust came crashing through the door to the throne room. "Your majesty! Phillip, Brian, David, all of them are dead!" "What!? What happened?! Who is responsible for this!" Just then, glass shattered from the window overlooking Ponyville. Dash and Dust fell to the floor. Dash looked up to find the mess of a creature that she couldn't believe she was happy to see. "Sorry, Miss, I won't be in for very long, just here to get something I need, I'll even clean up the place!...Now, let's see...Ah! There it is!" With one swift motion, Discord swooped down, came up with Rainbow Dash, and flew back out the window, the glass that was once shattered moving back into alignment. "Rainbow Dash. We've been waiting on you for too long." Discord cut the binding off of Dash's wings. "Follow me, I've got a lot to show you."